Refrigerator



Oct. 19, 1937. c. E. H. FRYKDAHL 2,096,481

REFRIGERATOR Filed March 20, 1956 Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITE STATES-PATENT OFFlCE 2,096,481 REFRIGERATOR Carl Edward Harry Frykdahl, Duluth,Minn., as-

signor to The Coolerator Company, Duluth, Minn, a corporation ofMinnesota Application March 20, 1936, Serial no. 9,302

s Claims. (01. 62 46 This invention relates to ice refrigerators and itis particularly intended and adapted for that type of ice refrigeratorin which the circulation ice cake and promote level. melting; to preventcondensation on the front rail of the refrigerator between the foodcompartment door and the ice 15 compartment door; and to preventdrippings and ice chips from passing into the food compartment.

Further objects are to provide a water cooler in the cooling Zone of therefrigerator and adapt 23 ed to be filled with water and to dispensewater at the front of the food compartment; to support the water coolerin the drip pan beneath the.

ice so that drippings will fall upon the top of the water cooler andassist in cooling the water there- S in; to enable the drip pan andwater cooler to be easily removed from the refrigerator and re-v placedtherein; and to enable the Water coolerto.

be separated from the drip pan easily and without disconnecting anyparts. 1 With these and other objects in view I have illustrated theinvention in a selected embodiment in the accompanying drawing andreferring thereto Fig. l is a front elevation of the refrigerator 5 withthe door to the food compartment and the door to the ice compartmentopen;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through that part of therefrigerator which includes the top portion of the food compartment andthe bot.- 43 tom portion of the ice compartment;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the water cooler;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the drip pan; and

45 Fig. 5 is a detail view partly in section showing the filling spoutfor the water cooler in extended position.

Referring to the drawing, Bindicates generally the cabinet which may beof different sizes 59 and shapes and made of suitable material withdesired insulation, and varied to meet differentconditions. Therefrigerator has a food come partment l at the bottom and an icecompartment 8 at the top. A front ledge 9 is supported in the side wallsof the refrigerator adjacent the into'the food compartment.

cross rail l6 which is located in the front wall between the foodcompartment door I! and the ice compartment door l2. An inner rail I3 ismounted on the front ledge 9 and spaced like the front ledge from thefront rail Ill. The front ledge, 5 the front rail and the inner rail arepreferably made of wood; and the inner rail has a sheet metal facing 14thereon which extends down over theinner edge of the front ledge. Thelower edge I 5 of the facing I4 hangs free to provide a dripedgedirectly above the water cooler and drip pan to prevent any water ofcondensation ron i" dripping into the food compartment. The space Hibetween the front rail and the inner rail and front'ledgeis narrow andis covered at the top by the sill ll of the door to the ice compartmentwhich prevents anything from dropping through this space into the foodcompartment. This space provides an air space between the front rail andthe inner rail which affords sufli- 2'0 c ient insulation for the frontrail to prevent the metal facing I0 thereon from sweating. It is notstrictly a dead air space because it is open at the top and bottom andthere may be some movementof the air'but it is not an air circulationspace andcontribut es nothing to the air circulation cycle in the foodcompartment. The front ledge 9 extends inwardly from the front Wall ofthe refrigerator and between the two compartments and forms a shelf uponwhich the front of the ice rack rests. The facing I4 is hooked over the"upper outer edge of the inner rail l3 at M and a keeper I 4 fastenedabove the drip edge l5 or the facing is arranged to hook under the inneredge ofthe front ledge 9 whereby the facing is-held'inplace on the innerrail and front 1 1: a

-A back ledge I 8 is fastened to the back and sidewalls of therefrigerator and is preferably made of wood provided with a sheet metalfacing I8; The inneredgeof the back ledge l8 projects over the drip' panand the rear end of the water cooler so that any drippings fromthe ledgewill"? be received in thepan and not drop into'the food compartment. Thelower face of the front ledge 9 is preferably inclined'inwardly anddownwardly to assist in changing the direction of the flow of air'in thecirculation up behind the food compartn entdoor l l rearwardoverthewater cooler and drip pan and the lower face of the back ledge I8is inclined inwardly and downwardly so that any water of condensationthereon will flow'to theinn'er lower edge of the ledge and drop uponthe" water cooler. and the drip panand not drop An ice rack i9 ofsuitable construction is removably supported upon the ledges 9 and [8.This ice rack may have a plurality of parallel bars l9 extending betweenfront and back of the refrigerator and provided with depending sides orflanges iii if desired; and one type of such ice rack is illustrated inPatent 1,864,212, June 21, 1932. A sheet metal front rail is fastened tothe underside of the front ends of the rack bars and extends upwardalongside the inner rail I3 and projects at an angle above said rail andhas its upper edge turned down to provide a rounded hooked upper end 29'which is located inward of the sill ll of the ice compartment door. Theice rack front rail is bent to form a bead 2| which preferably extendstransversely of the rack beneath the front edge thereof to rest upon theinwardly projecting end portion of the front ledge. The purpose of thebead is to reduce the area of contact between the rack and the shelfformed by the ledge 9 to a line contact and correspondingly reduce theheat conductance through this line contact and thereby prevent the icefrom melting unduly and irregularly. The outwardly projecing part of theice rack front rail, and its upper rounded hooked end, forms a shieldbetween the ice cake 22 and the metal faced inner rail 83 and frontledge 9 and assists in protecting the front rail 69 .and its facing fromsweating. The rounded upper end 29' of the ice rack front rail projectsslightly above the sill l! of the door to the ice compartment andindicates, when the top of the ice is substantially in the samehorizontal plane as therounded top of the ice rack front rail, that therefrigerator should be re-iced; and this rounded top provides .a skidrail over which the new ice cake is pushed into the ice compartment andprotects the sill ll of the door. A spacer 23 fastened to the: undersideof the rail 23 is arranged to engage the rail [3 and support the rail 23against collapsing upon the rail I3 under the weight of an ice cake.

An ice rack back rail 24 is fastened to the rear ends of the rack barsI9 and is bent to form a bead 25 and then extends upwardly behind. therack and rearwardly at 24' with its upper edge engaging the back wall 26of the refrigerator. The bead-29 is provided for the same reasons thatthe bead 2% is provided as herein explained. Keepers 2? are fastened tothe back wall of the refrigerator and keepers 28 are fastened to the icerack back rail behind the ice rack to engage the fixed keepers 21. Thesekeepers not only serve to position the ice rack on the shelves formed bythe ledges 9 and 18 but the keepers 28 are arranged beneath the keepers2! to prevent the rear end of the rack from tilting upward when a cakeof ice is skidded into the ice compartment over the front rail 23. Thekeepers 21, 28 space the ice rack back rail from the back wall of therefrigerator and the inclined upper part 24 of the rail provides ashield for the spacers and also serves as a centering device tocooperate with the inclined front rail 23 for centering the ice cake inthe ice chamber and also to prevent the ice cake from resting againstthe rear wall or the front wall of the ice compartment. Hangers 29 aresuspended from the back ledge l 8 to removably support a screen 30 whichbridges a part of the space between the back ledge and the top of thewater cooler or the bottom of the drip pan and serves to prevent chipsthat may be separated from the ice cake from falling into the foodcompartment.

The drip pan, Fig. 4, has a bottom 3!, sides 32, a low front 33 and alow back 34." The pan is located at the top of the food compartment 1and extends from side wall to side wall of the refrigerator. The pan issupported on hangers in the food compartment beneath the rack and theice cake. There are slots 35 in the rear edges of the drip pan sideswhich engage the hangers 36 fastened to the side walls of the foodcompartment and there are forwardly and upwardly projecting hangers 31fastened to the front ends of the sides of the drip pan to engageswinging hangers 38 pivotally mounted on the side walls of the foodcompartment (Fig. 5). When the door i is open the drip pan is placed inthe food compartment until the slots 35 engage the hangers 39 and thenthe hangers 38 are swung down to engage the hangers 31 and the drip panis then suspended in the food compartment at the top thereof. The back34 is of sufiicient height to prevent any drip water from flowingthereover and falling into the food compartment and the front 33 is alsoof sufficient height to prevent any water in the drip pan from fiovvingthereover and falling into the food compartment when the pan is beingremoved from the refrigerator. A small extension 39 at the back of thedrip pan is provided with a tubular discharge 39' which enters the drainpipe 40 whereby the drip water and any water of condensation that may bereceived in the drip pan is conveyed directly to the drain pipe. Thedrip pan has a slot 4| therein extending forward from the extension 39and this slot is covered by a shield 42 on the bottom of the pan. Theslot 4| extends beyond the front end of the shield 42 and the forwardend of the slot is. protected by an upstanding flange 43 forming a rimwhich prevents water in the pan from flowing through the slot into thefood compartment. The drip pan is suspended in an inclined positiondownwardly from the front to the rear and there will be a constant drainfrom the pan and the shield rearwardly through the extension 39 to thedrain pipe. The front edge 42' of the shield is bent upward to preventthe accidental escape of water at this end of the shield.

The water cooler, Fig.3, comprises a tank 44 which hasan upstanding bead45 all about its upper edge. This tank is adapted to be assembled withthe drip pan and together inserted into the food compartment. A pipe 46having a discharge valve 41 at its front end communicates at its innerend with the bottom of the water cooler 44at the back thereof. In theform of themvention shown in the drawing the pipe is horizontal, thevalve is located below the front of the tank and the back end of thepipe is fastened to the bottom of the tank near the back wall thereof.The pipe may rest upon. the flange 42' at the front of the shield and itis preferably held in a hanger 48 secured to the bottom of the tank. Thedischarge valve is located just inside of the door II at the top of thefood compartment where it is readily accessible or it can be extendedthrough a wall of the refrigerator for dispensing cold water which willflow by gravity from the tank. A filling nozzle ,49 having a cap 53 isswivelled in an elbow 5! which is fastened in the front wall of thetank. This nozzle is located at one side of the tank and it can be swungforward sufficiently to enable the filling operation to be conductedwithout spilling water into the food compartment. The tank is supportedby the drip pan slightly above the bottom thereof by the hanger 48 andby the rib 43 so that water in the pan may flow freely on the bottomthereof from front to back of the pan and into the extension 39- to bedischarged into the drain pipe. The tank is arranged in tilted position,like the bottom of the drip pan, and the bead 45 at the back of the tankhas one or more recesses 45'- to permit water on top of the tank to flowover the rear end thereof and into the drip pan.

In the ordinary use of a refrigerator embodying my invention the icewill melt level so that a fresh cake of ice can be readily inserted uponthe reduced cake in the ice compartment. The ice melts at the bottom ofthe cake and to no material extent at the front or back, sides or top,and also melts slowly, and the front rail 20 forms a convenient gauge toindicate time for re-icing. The fresh ice cake is skidded over therounded upper end of the rail 20 onto the top of the reduced cake in theice compartment and this facilitates re-icing and protects the sill H,which may be made of a breakable material, from damage. The front rail20 and that part 24 of the back rail 24 of the ice rack are inclinedinwardly and downwardly and serve to center .the fresh cake of ice onthe rack as the reduced cake melts away. The beads 21 and 25 of the icerack have line contact with the supporting ledges 9 and I8 and reducethe heat transfer between the ice cake and the supports and promote thelevel melting of the ice cake. The inner rail I3 and the air space I6,and to some extent the ice rack front rail 20, reduce heat transferthrough the front rail l0 and prevent condensation on the facing l0.

The water cooler provides a simple and convenient means for dispensingcold water for drinking purposes. This .water cooler is arranged at thetop of the food compartment immediately below the ice cake, and the tankand the drip pan which supports the tank are arranged in a downwardlyinclined position from front to rear which assists the circulation ofair in the food compartment up at the front of the compartment and overthe top of the tank from front to back thereof and down at the back ofthe compartment. Thus the air circulates in a cooling zone between thewater tank and drip pan and the ice cake and the drippings from the icecake and thewater on top of the cooler tank make this cooling zone alsoa humidifying zone; The air in the food compartment is thus kept moistand it absorbs the odors and gases given off by the food while it iscirculating in the food compartment, and as the air passes through thecooling and moisture zone it is washed and purified, the odor and gasesbeing carried off by the water and down the drain pipe. The screen 30 isarranged to prevent chips or chunks of ice which may fall from the icecompartment from passing over the rear end of the cooler tank and thedrip pan and falling into the food compartment.

I have shown the invention in a selected'embodiment adapted forcommercial use in one model of household refrigerator but I do notrestrict the invention to this particular embodiment and reserve theright to make all such changes and alterations in the form, constructionand arrangement of parts which may be desirable for any purpose andwithin the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment, a door opening and adoor therefor, and

a rail arranged in the ice compartment adjacent the bottom of the dooropening forming a insidethe ice compartment and above the level of saidsill over which a cake of ice may be skidded into the compartmentwithout damaging the sill. i I

3. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment, a door opening and adoor therefor, an ice rack at the bottom of the ice compartment toreceive a cake of ice, and a rail connected to the ice rack andarrangedat the front of the ice compartment to form a skid on which acake of ice may be skidded into the. compartment.

4. An ice refrigerator having an ice comparte ment, a door opening and adoor therefor, ledges at the bottom of said compartment, an ice racksupported on said ledges, and a front rail'on said ice rack at the frontedge thereof, said rail being shaped to form a head for line contactwith one of said ledges and also being extended to form a rail on whicha cake of ice may be skidded into the icecompartment.

5. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment and a back walltherefor, ledges at the bottom'and at the front and back-of saidcompartment, and an ice'rack supported on said ledges, said ice rackhaving a back'rail and said back rail having a bead at thebottom thereofto form line contact with the back ledge and said back rail being alsoextended up behind the rack and inclined against the back 'wall of theice compartment.

6. An'ice refrigerator having an ice compartment at the top and a foodcompartment at the bottom, ledges between said compartments and at thefront and back thereof, an-ice rack supported on said ledges, said frontledge being inclined inwardly and downwardly at its bottom, a drip panat the top of the food compartment, and

av sheet metal facing on the front ledge having 7. An ice refrigeratorhaving an ice comparts ment at the top and a food compartment at thebottom, ledges between said compartments and at the front and backthereof, an ice rack supported on said, ledges, a drip pan at the top ofthe food compartment, the back ledge being inclined inwardly anddownwardly at its bottom, a sheet metal facing on said back ledge, andmeans suspended from said back ledge to discharge drippings from the iceand water of condensation on the bottom of the back ledge into the drippan.

8. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment at the top and a foodcompartment at the bottom, side walls for the food compartment, a drippan, means for supporting said drip pan at the back thereof, keepers onthe front of the drip pan, and swinging keepers on the side walls of thefood compartment to engage said keepers on the drip pan for supportingthe front part of the drip pan.

9. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment and a food compartmentbelow the ice vice and a filling device comprising a swingable nozzle onsaid tank, both of said devices being located at the front of the tankin an accessible position for use when the food compartment door isopen.

10. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment and a food compartmentbelow the ice compartment, a ledge between saidcompart a compartment, anice rack in the ice compartment for supporting a cake of ice therein, awater cooler comprising a tank supported in the top of the foodcompartment beneath the rack, said tank being inclined downwardly towardthe rear of said refrigerator, a dispensing device comprising adischarge valve and a pipe connecting said valve with the lowermostportion of said tank, said valve being not higher than the lowermostportion of said tank, a door for the food compartment, and a fillingdevice on said tank, both of said devices being located at the front of,the tank in an accessible position for use when the food compartmentdoor is open.

12. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment and a food compartmentbelow the ice compartment, an ice rack in the ice compartment forsupporting a cake of ice therein, a water cooler comprising a tanksupported in the top of the food compartment beneath the rack, a doorfor the food compartment, a dispensing device, and a filling devicecomprising an elbow fastened in the front wall of the tank and anelongated swingable nozzle pivotally mounted in said elbow and adaptedto be swung within the food compartment when the food compartment dooris closed and to be swung out of the doorway of the food compartmentwhen the food compartment door is open to render the nozzle accessiblefor filling the tank.

top of the food compartment and below the ice rack, and a water coolercomprising a tank arranged in said drip pan, said drip pan and tankbeing spaced from the front and back walls of the food compartment andfrom the ice rack and being inclined downwardly from front to backwhereby a circulation of air is induced from the front to the back ofthe food compartment between the top of the cooler tank and the bottomof the ice rack and an ice cake thereon whereby substantially all theice meltage will occur at the bottom of an ice cake placed on the icerack.

14. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment and a food compartmentbelow the ice compartment, an ice rack in the ice compartment forsupporting a cake of ice therein, a drip pan supported at the top of thefood compartment below the ice rack, and a water cooler comprising atank supported in said drip pan, said drip pan and tank being inclinedinwardly and downwardly from front to back of the food compartment andforming a cooling zone at the top of the food compartment and below theice rack and an ice cake thereon through which cooling zone the air inthe food compartment is caused to circulate from front to back thereofwhereby substantially all the ice meltage will occur at the bottom of anice cake placed on the ice rack.

1-5. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment at the top and a foodcompartment at the bottom, a ledge between said compartments, an icerack supported on said ledge, said ledge being inclined inwardly anddownwardly at its bottom, a drip pan at the top of the food compartment,and means suspended from said ledge and depending therefrom above thedrip pan to discharge drippings from the ice and water of condensationon the bottom of said ledge into the drip pan.

16. An ice refrigerator having an ice compartment at the top and a foodcompartment at the bottom, ledges between said compartments, an ice racksupported on said ledges, said ledges being inclined inwardly anddownwardly at the bottomsthereof, a drip pan at the top of the foodcompartment, and means suspended from said ledges and dependingtherefrom above the drip pan to discharge drippings from the ice andwater of condensation on the bottom of said ledges into the drip pan.

CARL EDWARD HARRY FRYKDAHL.

